BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - The former chief executive officer of Adams Produce Company was sentenced today by a federal judge to serve 16 months in prison for his guilty plea to fraud and other charges.

Scott David Grinstead was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Karon O. Bowdre during a hearing this evening at the Hugo L. Black U.S. Courthouse in Birmingham.

Grinstead's attorney, Bill Athanas, stated in an email this evening that the sentencing guideline range was 33 to 41 months, but the judge varied downward to 16 months. The judge noted Grinstead's exceptional rehabilitation and his previous restitution payment, he stated.

Grinstead paid $450,000 in restitution to the bankruptcy estate of Adams Produce for the benefit of the company's employees who were not fully paid because of Adams' abrupt closing and its filing for bankruptcy last year, Athanas said.

Athanas also had argued last week in a sentencing memorandum that Grinstead has a history of drug and alcohol abuse and addiction. But he stated Grinstead had committed himself to sobriety, completing inpatient treatment in March 2012, and has been sober since then and has started a recovery program at his church.

"The imposition of this sentence marks the end of a very difficult chapter in Scott's life, but also stands as an opportunity for a new beginning," Athanas stated. "The Court's sentence reflects what a mountain of evidence demonstrated - that he has undergone a fundamental transformation, and has backed up his commitment to change his life with action."

Grinstead is grateful for the love and support of the many family and friends who wrote letters to his court on his behalf, attended the sentencing hearing, and stood by him over the past 19 months, Athanas stated.

Grinstead pleaded guilty earlier this year to fraud against Adams Produce, failure to report a felony against the government, and failure to file federal income tax returns.

Adams Produce was founded in 1903 by Edwin Calvin Adams. The Adams family sold the company to executives and a private equity firm in 2010. The company filed for bankruptcy last year.

According to court records, certain Adams employees, in the wake of the company's financial problems, resorted to fraud involving contracts the company had with the U.S. government to provide fruit and vegetables for military bases and schools.

Between August 2011, and November 2011, officers and employees of Adams Produce, conducted transactions with a national distributor - TLC in Marietta, Ga. - that were designed to create false purchase orders and invoices, according to court records. The company used the false purchase orders and invoices from the national distributor to submit false invoices to government and received approximately $481,000.00 from the government that Adams Produce was not entitled to get, according to court records.

One of the charges against Grinstead is misprision of a felony for knowing of the fraud others were engaged in and allowing it to continue and end slowly, so as to avoid raising red flags with the government, rather than stopping it immediately and reporting it to authorities, prosecutors said.

Grinstead also was charged with wire fraud for wiring hundreds of thousands of dollars from an Adams Produce account to American Express to pay for clothing, jewelry, personal travel for himself and his family, lawn care at his home, and items for a house on Lake Martin, according to the statement.

Grinstead also pleaded guilty to two counts of failure to file a federal tax return, one for 2009 and one for 2010.

According to the charges against him, Grinstead had a gross income of about $748,801 for the 2009 calendar year and willfully failed to file an income tax return with the Internal Revenue Service. In 2010, according to the information, Grinstead received about $1,878,700 in gross income and willfully did not file a return with the IRS, according to the statement.